Girls’ Hockey Goes 3-1, Gets 3rd in Cushing Tourney

The Girls’ Hockey Team traveled to Ashburnham, MA over the weekend to compete in the Cushing Academy Watkins Girls’ Hockey Tournament. The Huskies attend this tournament each year at the start of the Holiday Break. The girls went 3-1 and placed 3rd among the eight prep teams participating.

The Huskies placed third in the Cushing Academy Watkins Girls’ Hockey Tournament.

After a five hour bus trip from Lake Placid to Cushing, the girls faced off against their first and strongest opponent, New Hampton. Bus legs proved to be a problem, as the Huskies were out worked by a very skilled New Hampton team. After a scoreless first period, the action began to ramp up in the second. Lexi Hooper (Forward, 2020) scored off a scrum in front of the net. Despite taking the 1-0 lead, it was not enough to hold of New Hampton for the remainder of the game. New Hampton scored 2 quick goals following Hooper’s tally in the second. The third period remained scoreless and New Hampton took the win 1-2. Ashley Davis (Goalie, PG 2017) saved 34 of 36 in net.

The following morning the girls faced off against Deerfield Academy and needed extra time to complete the win. The Huskies continued the trend of scoreless first periods; it wasn’t until the second stanza that the girls got on the board. Aimee Headland (Forward, 2019) got the first tally after rushing the puck to create a breakaway. With just three seconds remaining in the period Sierra Benjamin (Defense, 2018) threw the puck on net as Kylie Kroes (Forward, 2018) tipped it to make the lead 2-0 going into the third. Deerfield struck next a few minutes into the third to challenge the lead 2-1. With the intensity raised, Deerfield pulled their goalie to add the extra skater. Their 6 to 5 player advantage allowed Deerfield to capitalize with a minute left to push the game into overtime. After a scoreless five minute overtime the game was decided with a shootout. Headland and Nicki Kendrick (Forward, 2018) both scored to lift the Huskies to a 3-2 shootout win. Davis stopped 45 of 47 shots, including all four shootout attempts.

A late night game had the Huskies back on the ice to face off against Worcester Academy for their third game in 24 hours. The girls started strong by netting two goals in the first. Marina Alvarez (Defense, 2021) started the scoring by driving down the ice and shooting five hole. A few minutes later, Sierra Benjamin (Defense, 2018) drove the ice scoring low blocker to extend the Husky lead to 2-0. The second period remained scoreless. It wasn’t until late in the third when Worcester was able to capitalize on a tired Northwood squad to cut the lead to 2-1. As time was winding down on the clock Keeley Rose (Forward, 2018) launched a backhanded down the ice to score in an empty net to seal the win at 3-1. Davis stopped 29 of 30 shots for the win.

After going 2-1 in round robin play, the Huskies were slotted to play for third place the following moring where they would take on Winchendon School. Despite only winning 1-0, the girls controlled the pace for most of the game and dominated play. Kendall Dubin (Forward, 2018) scored the lone goal in the first from the top of the circle. The girls worked hard as a unit to preserve the win. Davis stopped all 21 shots. In addition to being awarded the 3rd place trophy, the tournament announced 1st, 2nd, and 3rd all-tournament teams. Ashley Davis (Goalie, PG 2017) was awarded 1st all-tournament team after posting a .963 save percentage on the weekend.

Christmas break marks the halfway point in the Huskies season. There has been lots of success in the first half of the year. Moe Tsukimoto (Forward, 2018) leads the team with 18 goals, despite not playing in the last six games. Ashley Davis (Goalie, PG 2017) has registered 10 shutouts in 20 games. The defensive duo of Hanna Rose (Defense, 2018) and Sierra Benjamin (Defense, 2018) has been constantly strong as a backbone to the team. Despite being new to the program, Aimee Headland (Forward, 2019) has shown true character and has been a huge impact player.

With this weekend’s wins, the Huskies move to 20-6-3 on the season. After a well-deserved break, the girls will travel to the University of Maine to compete against league rivals in NAPHA play.

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